Tag: Weetabix

I spoke about anxiety on the blog ( here! ) a while back and proclaimed myself to be “Sickboy” – I joked that my superhero name needed a little work. I went back to the drawing board and I’m proud to introduce you to “Weetabix boy”
I’m nailing these superhero names, right?

First and foremost, some of you might be wondering “what the hell is Weetabix?” which is a fair question I suppose. Weetabix is one of the leading cereals in the UK and is exported to over 80 countries worldwide. It’s a healthy and popular breakfast option for both children and adults alike and something I’m personally a big fan of.

I say I’m fond of Weetabix but that might be underselling it a little. I’ve eaten two Weetabix a day for pretty much most of my life, including today of course.
Let’s crunch the numbers. 30 years (give or take) x 365.25 days a year x 2 Weetabix a day = roughly 21,915 Weetabix in my lifetime. Although for clarity, the number eaten definitely won’t be an odd number! You’re not eating odd-numbered Weetabix in the Reid household you savages! Just thinking about it is a cause of nightmares!

For accuracy I want to acknowledge there have had to be exceptions (usually holidays) where I haven’t had Weetabix every day, so I’m going to round down to a nice even 20,000 Weetabix consumed. However I wouldn’t be surprised if it is actually much higher than that (I haven’t been counting).

I promise this post isn’t sponsored by Weetabix but the point is that it’s a fitting Superhero name – I am Weetabix boy and if they were ever looking for a brand ambassador then I am that guy!
Whilst “Weetabix Boy” probably won’t be making an appearance in Hollywood any time soon, it is a little reflective of myself.

You get the Weetabix story because it perfectly highlights how predictable I am. I thrive off of familiarity, I like routine, I find comfort in the safer choice. Throw in an introverted personality plus some autistic traits (I’ve never been diagnosed and this is no self-diagnosis) and it can be a little surprising that I’ve traveled so much.

To take a commonly used phrase in football – “on paper” I’m not well suited to traveling.

“Sorry, I’m not staying here. Your buffet breakfast doesn’t even have Weetabix”
“So try something else Sir”
“Are you crazy?”

In a literal sense, yes you can travel and live life exactly the same way you do at home. Particularly as a Westerner, you’ll find Western food, brands and so on all over the world so if you want to travel that way so be it but is it really traveling?
I can’t erase the image from my head that my first impression of Bonn (Germany) was seeing a big yellow M. Of all the architecture and sights that could have caught my eye – bam! McDonalds, very German! I hate that it’s the first thing I associate with Bonn (rather than some ‘famous’ bloke called Beethoven for instance).

Realistically that isn’t travel. You’ve got to dip your toes in to the culture, try new foods, meet new people and enjoy new experiences if you really want to get the best from traveling. I’m not saying you can’t indulge in some home comforts whilst you’re away but you don’t want to spend your entire trip doing so.

It’s easier said than done though isn’t it? My parents often had to admit defeat to a fussy child (why Natasha?). I vividly remember being at Universal Studios one year and my parents were contemplating nearby food options to appease the fussy one. Maybe it was the adrenaline still running high from all of the rollercoasters but we ended up at the Hard Rock Café and not wanting to cause too much fuss I “stepped up”. I was “super-adventurous” and had my first ever.. *drumroll” .. burger! Wow! Sadly this was in an era before photographing your food was a trend so you’ll have to believe me – wild child, right? Whatever next?

I’m a creature of habit and those habits weren’t just limited to what I ate. In order to make the most of seeing the world I’ve had to adapt and challenge my thought process a little. My parents often used to pack Weetabix when we were going on trips, it was a controllable measure and ensured they’d get one fuss-free meal a day out of the way. It’s something I appreciated them doing for me but it’s not how I want to live and travel for the rest of my life.

So here’s a few villains “Weetabix boy” has had to battle in my quest for world-travel-status.

The Arch Nemesis – the small talker!
If you’ve ever met me in person you’ll know I’m not a talker, perhaps hard to believe with the rambling I do online but I’m a quiet-natured person. I was often described as a shy kid, I 100% was but as I’ve gotten older my confidence has started to build and I’ve strayed from describing myself as shy.

I’m still quiet but there’s a difference. If I can add to a conversation I will do but I’m just as happy listening or sat in silence. The problem with adding to a conversation is I’ve never had good conversational skills and small talk is my arch enemy.

We’ve never got along but it’s the starting point to any conversation isn’t it? Admittedly I’ve got better at understanding what constitutes good small talk and what constitutes bad small talk, plus all of the rules that come with it, but I don’t actually understand the logic behind it.

For instance, it’s a social pleasantry to ask how someone is but of course I can’t actually tell you how I am.. “Heartbroken..”
Whoa, whoa, whoa Jason – read the script mate.
“Oh shit, my bad. I’m fine. How are you?”
“Fine” (depressed)

I must have been sick the day they were handing out rulebooks to my peers because I’ve never understood the need for forced conversation opposed to silence.

You: “Beautiful day out there..”
Me: “It is. Did you see that red car drive by?
You “erm..no.. that’s erm.. really interesting Jason..” (what a nutjob!)

My bad, I thought we were making pointless observations from outside. I can see it’s sunny. The person responsible for creating windows only did so with the intention of avoiding these daily exchanges, true story (probably not at all true).

I’ve got better at it but the problem is once you start analysing what constitutes good small talk opposed to bad you can then do the same for any conversation. Is this interesting to you or are you just being polite? FYI, if you have a spare copy of the script (small talk 101) it’d be much appreciated.

To an extent “Weetabix Boy” can get by in daily life. You form relationships and familiarities with people but meeting new people? Back to the small talk because you have to do that before you establish the connection with someone and the interesting conversations.
“On a scale of 1-10 how much do you love Weetabix?”.
“Erm.. a 5? Sorry, excuse me. I’ve just got to run to the toilet but I’ll 100% be back for this super-interesting conversation”

Traveling solo has definitely forced me out of my comfort zone. I’ve met people from all over the world of various different backgrounds and subsequently improved my conversational skills further. It might only be sharing a love of travel with the person you’re sharing a hostel with or getting caught talking to a local and discovering their love of the place they live in but travel has helped “Weetabix boy” grow his confidence and become a conversational wizard (alright, stretching it a bit far).

The last minute folk!
“Weetabix boy, pub tonight?”
Let me check my diary, oh no!! I have absolutely nothing planned and I can’t get out of it. Let’s reschedule?

This is very much the introvert within me but last minute plans are the bane of my existence.
“Why didn’t you ask me yesterday?”
“Well, I only decided to go out like 10 minutes ago”
“You monster!”

I still struggle with this. I like social situations, I like going out and doing things but if I’ve mentally prepared myself for an evening of no plans, all of my instincts are to stick to that plan. I’m trying to challenge myself more because in my brain I know once I’m out, more often than not, I’ll have a good time but I have to push myself out.

My instant reaction to last minute plans will almost always be “no!” and trying to re-configure your brain to say “YES” isn’t something that just happens overnight. In some scenarios it is justifiable saying no in which case I don’t feel guilty for it, sometimes you don’t have the finances for plans for instance but it’s trying to rewire your brain in the instances where you have no excuse.

“Coming out tonight?”
“Sorry, Weetabix to eat”
“Yeah Jason, that’s not a valid excuse. I’ll pick you up in 10”

Traveling often puts you in a scenario where last minute things come up. Two Spanish guys invite you out to a bar playing Fado music? GO!
Pub crawl in Bratislava? Bring it on!
Bike tour in Berlin? “JA! (to be honest it was a maybe at best but peer pressure helped).
Roadtrip to Oklahoma? I’m ready!

Travel has forced “Weetabix Boy” to say Yes, Ja, Si and soforth with more regularity.

The Hostel Snorer!
I’m an introvert and I think one of the misconceptions is that we aren’t sociable people and like to hide away in a dark room away from people for eternity. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done the lonesome teenager lifestyle (and excelled at it) but I like to think I’m always game for a social occasion.

At the end of it all though I need to wind down. Social situations are exhausting, traveling is also exhausting. Often I’ll re-energise by winding down at the end of a day and indulging in a little “me time”. I need that bit of personal space which is fine in your every day life but it’s not so easy when traveling.

Sometimes you’re traveling as part of a group and you’ll find yourself in close confinement 24/7 for the entirety of your trip – no escape! Alternatively I’ll travel solo and often find my “winding down” time period isn’t a solo experience. I want to relax and you’re bloody snoring on the bunk below!

I’ve been forced to adapt, you can’t stick to your usual rituals and you’ve just got to go with the flow. You can’t start your day with Weetabix as you do at home and similarly you can’t walk around a hostel dorm naked in the same way you might in a hotel. I still need that wind-down or personal space but I’ve had to reinvigorate the ways I do so when I travel.

The chef
I touched on this already but I was a fussy child. Leaving a 1 star hotel review because Weetabix was not on the breakfast buffet is not okay! Before any of you get the wrong idea, I swear I’ve never done this! I’m not THAT bad!

I’m nowhere near as fussy as I was when I was a child. I eat a lot better and with a lot more variety now and I don’t want to be eating at all of the same places I do at home. Nevertheless I get trapped in this little food bubble of wanting to be adventurous and simultaneously ordering the same thing every single time. “What do you mean you’ve changed your menu? Why would you do that?” – a true disaster!

There are a lot more foods that I eat now compared to when I was a child but the temptation to order something I know I’ll eat opposed to something I may / may not enjoy when traveling is a difficult one to overcome. I went to Lille on a daytrip to Lille recently and committed to trying a local delicacy – the potjevleesch – there’s no way I’d have done something like that five years ago. Can’t I just have pizza instead? That’s exotic foreign food, right?

In the last 12 months I’ve tried a range of different foods for the first time, from churros to sushi to corndogs and it still blows my mind a little bit. Whilst Weetabix should definitely be on any reputable breakfast menu I’ve learned to adapt a little when traveling. Sometimes you’ve just got to get the pancakes and you’ll appreciate that Weetabix a little bit more when you’re home again.

The chameleon!
I mentioned “Weetabix Boy” has encountered a few “villains” and whilst these have mostly been travel-related I thought I’d end on a fun little anomaly because there were occasions even at home where I’d have something different for breakfast. These instances were few and far between, I was still a fussy child and why would you really want anything other than Weetabix, right?

“So you’d have something else? Intriguing Jason, do tell!” Rice Krispies? Crunchie Nut? Corn Flakes? Sugar Puffs? Cheerios? No. I’ve never, to my recollection, even tried any of these but one cereal brand that occasionally questioned my loyalty was ”Ready Brek”, a porridge like cereal. It wasn’t something I ate often, I was more than happy eating Weetabix daily but it was an occasional treat and change from the norm.

I recently discovered who actually own the Ready Brek brand and couldn’t help but chuckle, remarkably Ready Brek are owned by none other than Weetabix Limited. So rather ironically, even when surrendering to other temptations, Weetabix Boy’s loyalty was never in doubt!

I hope you enjoyed an insight in to my crazy little world. What are your breakfast favourites? Can you match my Weetabix consumption levels? Let me know!

All the best!

Jason aka Weetabix Boy

P.S – no need to actually start calling me this!